Dd has a bit of a cold - send to school or not?

[Besom]

Dd has a mild sniffly cold. No cough, temp or anything. Normally would just send her but at the moment - what are we supposed to do?

[Bupkis]

I hadn't seen that update from Nicola Sturgeon.
It's madness, where my sister lives (not uk) people are tested routinely, even without symptoms.
When we booked tests, one was because a dr at the hospital recommended it, and one was because we had other symptoms.
Testing capacity is far too low.

[Acdcccc]

Does anyone know how long the results are taking to be sent through if you did postal testing

[SistemaAddict]

We did tests Monday morning and posted them and should get the results today. That's how long it took last time.

[canigooutyet]

@Acdcccc

Does anyone know how long the results are taking to be sent through if you did postal testing

Varies, once you sent it back should be within 48 hours.
Once you've requested the test, allow 3 days for it to be delivered.

At least this seems to be the case from what I am hearing from friends. A mutual friend tested positive just over a week ago. We are still waiting for track and trace to let us know though, good job we are in touch!

[latticechaos]

@BottomOfMyPencilCase yes you're right, I tried not to be too negative but really we are not doing enough. Only area we are is in testing in hospitals but schools should be priority tests for pupils, and surely would be if we didn't have capacity problems.

[BelleSausage]

DH got his back in 12 hours when he went to a drive through test centre. We had to wait two days. So it is really variable.


Testing is the only way to get in top of this thing and stamp out the outbreaks before they really spread.

People need to let go of that martyr crap about soldiering in and going into work. Get sick, get tested, isolate and then go back. Anything else is helping to fuel the pandemic.

You are not doing your colleagues any favours going to work ill. This counts doubly in a pandemic.

[EleanorOalike]

Am I the only person who loses their sense of smell with a cold or a stuffy nose?

Have you checked your child can smell and taste normally OP?

[GoldenOmber]

People need to let go of that martyr crap about soldiering in and going into work.

I'm really hoping that's one of the things that changes for good. I had colleagues coming into the office with coughs and fever in early March FFS. "Oooh I don't have time to be ill, haha!" Yeah thanks for that.

[Aragog]

Yes there are other symptoms of Covid but right now, if your child does not have one of those three symptoms, your child can’t get a test (unless you lie and say that they do I suppose).

But that's not quite true. I use the Zoe app to track how we are feeling daily - for me, Dh and teen Dd.

So far I have been asked to do a test twice - once was my normal fever symptoms and not one of the 'big 3' and the other was due to pain in my arms and hand (most likely my arthritis symptoms.)

I simply followed the link and was tested. I did not have to lie to be tested.

[BelleSausage]

@GoldenOmber

I don’t think parents who can’t get tests are selfish and lazy. That is very much the government’s problem and they need to sort it.

I think parents who don’t get tests because they cba are selfish fuckers.

School staff find themselves in an increasingly vulnerable position because very vocal parents groups didn’t want p/t school. And then they didn’t want social distancing. And then they didn’t want masks at all.

If this is now going to become parents not having their children tested because it’s too hard and inconvenient then I would vote a big, fat YES on my first strike ballot ever.

I’m really so depressed about it all. Who knew so many people were such entitled wankers.

[flapdoodlery]

They won’t routinely test in schools because they don’t want to know the answers.

[imaflutteringkite]

Our HT has made it clear that we should be sending in kids with colds and if we don't we risk an attendance fine!

[Aragog]

Getting a test is not that easy where we are. 36 minute drive each way and no home test kits available. I’d send them into school for a runny nose.

36 minutes drive?! That's nothing, surely. I drive nearly that to go to the supermarket or work. An hour would probably be a pain i grant you. but half an hour is - really?!?

[GoldenOmber]

@Aragog

*
Yes there are other symptoms of Covid but right now, if your child does not have one of those three symptoms, your child can’t get a test (unless you lie and say that they do I suppose).*

But that's not quite true. I use the Zoe app to track how we are feeling daily - for me, Dh and teen Dd.

So far I have been asked to do a test twice - once was my normal fever symptoms and not one of the 'big 3' and the other was due to pain in my arms and hand (most likely my arthritis symptoms.)

I simply followed the link and was tested. I did not have to lie to be tested.

Yes, I use the Zoe app too, but here in Scotland where I am and where the OP is you can't get referred for tested for reporting a sore throat on there. (If you look at the Zoe figures the estimated cases for Scotland is always a broader range than the English reasons because of this, they don't refer you for tests in the same way.)

[WouldBeGood]

@EleanorOalike

Am I the only person who loses their sense of smell with a cold or a stuffy nose?

Have you checked your child can smell and taste normally OP?

Apparently it’s different as it’s not through being bunged up of nose. I’d wondered about this too!

[Oliversmumsarmy]

Please don’t send her in.

I catch colds really easily and they are not simple colds that go away after a few days.

When dc were at school they would pick up any cough or cold going.
Then they would be off for several days (our family never cope well with colds of any sort)
Then they would give it to me and I would be off for 2 weeks as the cold would go straight to my chest and I would end up with a chest infection that wouldn’t shift short of antibiotics

When I worked in an office I did walk out a couple of times with the proviso of them letting me know when the office was free of colds and sniffles as I was only saving man hours as they affected me so badly.

I think it is genetic in my case as my mother was the same

[WouldBeGood]

It’s not allowed just to take other people’s children’s temperatures randomly by the way.

[canigooutyet]

@WouldBeGood

It’s not allowed just to take other people’s children’s temperatures randomly by the way.

Schools can easily get round this by sending out a consent form, along with all the other ones we have to sign at the start of a new year.

If a student starts coughing, says they feel hot or whatever, staff can take temperatures iirc.

[TwiceAsNice22]

Where I live a runny nose is one of the symptoms you are meant to get tested for. Personally, I wouldn’t send your child. It’s not fair to pass it on to everyone else, especially at a time like this.
We are currently going through our second lockdown (Melbourne, Australia) and before this lockdown schools kept shutting due to positive results. I would have been quite pissed off if someone was knowingly sending their sick child to my children’s school. I’m sure it’s more likely that your child has a cold rather than Covid - but you don’t know.

[flapdoodlery]

We can and do take temperatures of any child we think is poorly.

[BottomOfMyPencilCase]

@flapdoodlery are you a school nurse? Our DC has never had their temperature tested by a teacher in class. Even the school nurse would only temperature check if they DC complained of having a temperature.

[latticechaos]

@imaflutteringkite

Our HT has made it clear that we should be sending in kids with colds and if we don't we risk an attendance fine!

They can not give a fine if your child is unwell.

I would try to.move my child if a head said something so stupid.

[flapdoodlery]

My children have been sent home with a temperature previously to coronavirus. I don’t know of a single school around here which has a school nurse...

My child’s school and all those around us took every single child’s temperature on the gate during lockdown every day.

[flapdoodlery]

@WouldBeGood

This is something I will definitely bring up with management then. If a child presents as ill then they currently get their temperature taken. How can we send children home with coronavirus symptoms if we aren’t allowed to take their temperature?

[Mumof3cherubs]

@ballsdeep don’t know why you think I’m selfish. I’ve stuck to all the coronavirus rules and gone beyond. When one of my kids had symptoms I got them tested. But for a runny nose I wouldn’t, unless the guidance changes. The majority of staff in schools are likely to have children and if they had to take 3 or so days off to get their kids tested and wait for the results just for a runny nose or any other non Covid symptom schools would end up closing.